# Mohammad Rasoulof Cites Jafar Panahi’s New Prison Sentence as He and O Mipo Receive Tokyo’s Kurosawa Akira Award: ‘Iranian Cinema Continues to Face Repression’

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/mohammad-rasoulof-cites-jafar-panahis-new-prison-sentence-as-he-and-o-mipo-receive-tokyos-kurosawa-akira-award-iranian-cinema-continues-to-face-repression/
- Published: 2026-11-03T07:32:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-03T08:59:28+00:00
- Original publisher: Variety
- Original article: https://variety.com/2026/film/festivals/mohammad-rasoulof-cites-jafar-panahi-sentence-tokyo-kurosawa-award-1236938188/
- Topics: Asia, Business, Companies, Entertainment, Film, Middle East, World

## Key points

- Rasoulof linked Panahi’s sentence to ongoing pressure on Iranian filmmakers.
- He said his own imprisonment led him to tell stories more directly.
- O Mipo shared Tokyo’s Kurosawa Akira Award after returning to directing.

## Summary

Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof said Jafar Panahi’s new prison sentence showed that Iranian cinema still faces repression. Speaking as he received Tokyo’s Kurosawa Akira Award, Rasoulof described a shift towards telling stories directly, rather than relying on metaphor to avoid pressure from the authorities.

Panahi, who won the Palme d’Or at Cannes last year, was sentenced to five more years in prison and had his property confiscated, Rasoulof said. Rasoulof himself was arrested in 2010 while making a film and sentenced to five years; he said the experience changed how he approached his work. Japanese director O Mipo shared the award, recognised for films about people on society’s margins, and spoke about returning to directing after a nine-year break while raising her two sons.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.